User blog:Jpprales/Tips to Surviving as a Tokyo Private School Jet (2018) Part Two: Work
Work (Are you ready for the grind?)' ' Tips for tackling a new work enviorment Given the differing variables that dictate your working situation with JET and the exclusive rules at your school, I am in no position to express what your job will consist of (There it is again the, “Every situation is…” speech.) What I can help with is advice on your ability to manage stress and obligations that will constantly pile up after the first few weeks. While most of my advice comes through trial and error, taking some of these tips to heart can save you a bit of headache in the future. The Almighty Schedule (Personal/School Events)' ' ' ' You need a schedule. You need a schedule. By the way, make sure to pick up a schedule. I personally use google calendar and have it on every device I own: phone, pc, tablet, smart watch, etc. Moving from the country (Memphis, TN) to a big city, like Tokyo, was a huge adjustment for myself. The biggest change was going from around three to four events a month to a full list of month long events and activities. Given, I also have horrible short-term memory (and the attention span of a goldfish at times) I gave in and started marking my event calendars. I personally suggest having two calendars, one digital and a hard copy just in case something happens to your device of choice. However, Google Calendar saves your dates on the cloud so as long as you don’t mind the possibility that someone is tracking your every move digitally, go for it. The Name Game Oh boy, this is my least favorite part of living in Japan, playing the “Let me try to remember your name” Game. Apparently, forgetting people’s name is my only true super power and I have polished it well since college ended. However, it is essential to your social interactions and networking capability that you remember your immediate staff member’s names. It took me half a year to remember 16 teacher’s names, so there is your motivation to prove how much better you can do! Calling people by name is a standard when working in Japan. 'They do not say, “Hey Bud!” or “Hey man!” or even “Um, excuse me….” '''The proper way of getting someone’s attention at work will be along the lines of, “Excuse me (''Teacher’s Name) Sensei...” followed by your dialog. '''Thus, names will play a huge role in your work interactions from here on out. In regards to student names, they are important but it is a much larger task that will take much more dedication. For the time being, '''focus on remembering the names of teachers who you will likely have the most contact with during your first year. *There are workarounds to not using someone’s name, but I suggest you save those for your other social interactions. Staff names should be the second highest priority on your list after you have established that scheduling system we spoke of earlier.* Developing a Work Ethic and Habits' ' ' ' This is where I completely dropped the ball my first year of teaching. ' ' Keep in mind what you present to others professionally. I never truly established my work ethic and daily work habits. In my not so professional experience, Japanese co-workers really appreciate consistency in everything, so trying to mix things up, usually ends with someone getting flustered. You will likely see this consistency trend throughout the course of teaching English from the dated list of expressions within the New Crown text. While it can be disheartening teaching language that does not work socially in the world today, it is essential that you get the students prepared for upcoming exams. Whatever you do, DO NOT ARGUE AGAINST THE TEXT. If you want to express what language works better in any given situation, it is better to side note it. The text will be exact reference material for your school’s testing and might as well be a holy text to your JTE’s Job. Building trust in your relationship with your JTEs is part of your job. They need to know that you can do the things you say you can. '''I remember this interesting lecture I had with a Japanese professor, back in college. It was about Japanese workers vs. American workers. The concept was that if a Japanese worker says, “maybe” there is a higher probability they will complete a task than if an American worker says, “No problem, I can do that easily!” If you are one of those people who make empty promises, or forget to do things, I suggest fixing that. Keep in mind that Japan’s work respect system usually works on seniority and even being a representative of JET, you are still someone’s assistant. Before I give you the etymology of what “assistant” means, take it upon yourself to actualize that, while JETs are paid well for being an assistant, respect is initially received from the perspective of the role you are expected to play at your host school. Considering you, the reader, are starting this year, keep in mind that seniority will be a likely factor. '''Setting a Work Schedule' ' Knowing how to make time for classes is important. During your workday, you will likely be creating activities in-between classes and downtime. I personally was able to write up well over fifty activities for the kindergarten to the middle school level during my down time. This was also while attending to my graduate work and other socially invested endeavors, so given the situation; I had plenty of free time. This was in large part thanks to making a work schedule. Assuming you have access to a computer, use a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and create a class list for which classes you will be attending. Make sure it has the date, time, day of the week, and JTE’s name located somewhere on the graph. '''If it comes with a graph for your information, that is a plus. The second important part is, MAKE TWO COPIES of this schedule and make sure that one will be on your school’s server so that every teacher has access.' ' ' While some JETs will receive a work schedule with no complications, '''if a work schedule is not appointed to you or if you work in multiple schools, this information will be essential to communicating your obligations to peers. It will also act as a means of clarification in cases where there is overlap between schools or classes.' In Conclusions' ' These simple mindeful considerations for your working enviroment will help foster a positive direction for further colaborations. Keep in mind that your own capabilities are not necessarily an objective reality to your staff and thus setting up win-win situations for you and other staff members will show others how capable you are. None of these things listed are necessary, but neither is a positive working environment. Similar to how I left you last week with the lifestyle and housing situation, your work environment is merely just another extension of a situation that you create and thus allow yourself to be exposed too. Now get out there and keep a schedule, remember some names, build productive work habits, and mark those working calendars well! Category:Blog posts